


in between we are somewhere

by thespacenico



Series: i've got you brother [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Adventures, Birthday Fluff, Brothers, Fluff, Happy Birthday Shiro (Voltron), KEITH LOVES SHIRO A LOT AND WANTS HIM TO HAVE THE BEST DAY, Keith & Shiro (Voltron) are Adoptive Siblings, M/M, broganes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:54:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22956736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thespacenico/pseuds/thespacenico
Summary: “Happy birthday!” Keith cheers, running to the bed and flinging himself at Shiro.Shiro hardly manages to catch him, letting out a startled laugh as he topples back into the sheets with a bundle of ten-year-old in his arms. “Whoa there, someone’s cheery this morning.”He raises an eyebrow as Keith looks up from where he’d squished his face against Shiro’s chest, his hair a dark, ruffled mess on his head. “Adam says I can’t be grumpy today.”“Ah,” Shiro huffs, shooting an amused smile in Adam’s direction. “And you actually listened to him?”
Relationships: Adam & Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Adam & Keith (Voltron), Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Keith & Shiro (Voltron)
Series: i've got you brother [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1649716
Comments: 91
Kudos: 531





	in between we are somewhere

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHIRO !!!!!!   
> LEAP YEAR MEANS WE GET TO CELEBRATE A TRUE GENUINE SHIRO DAY!
> 
> I decided to make a series for the "we'll get there" broganes universe because I have more ideas for it so! This is set in the months following the events of "we'll get there" :) I picked the title from the quote "“We have come a long way, we have a long way to go. In between we are somewhere.” — Kim Stanley Robinson which I thought was very fitting for this series
> 
> Also this is for Anna (@misquidinq on twitter, @lujanne on tumblr, @teludav on insta) because I do what I want (ily Anna)

Technically speaking, Shiro is turning twenty-eight this year.

The sparkling mass of giant glittery golden balloons shaped like the number seven littering the ceiling of his bedroom when he wakes up beg to differ.

Shiro blinks tiredly as they come into focus, rubbing his eyes before squinting at the nearest one. He considers it for a moment. “Why,” he says to the ceiling, and is answered by the familiar sound of snickers and muffled giggles. He rolls over and props himself up on one elbow to see two faces peeking at him through a crack in the door, both smiling and trying not to laugh even though they’ve already given themselves away. Shiro stares at them. “Why,” he repeats dryly, at which Adam barks a laugh and Keith bursts into the room with a  _ bang. _

“Happy birthday!” Keith cheers, running to the bed and flinging himself at Shiro.

Shiro hardly manages to catch him, letting out a startled laugh as he topples back into the sheets with a bundle of ten-year-old in his arms. “Whoa there, someone’s cheery this morning.” 

He raises an eyebrow as Keith looks up from where he’d squished his face against Shiro’s chest, his hair a dark, ruffled mess on his head. “Adam says I can’t be grumpy today.”

“Ah,” Shiro huffs, shooting an amused smile in Adam’s direction. “And you actually listened to him?” 

He squawks at the sharp poke in the stomach that earns him, wrinkling his nose as Keith sticks his tongue out at him. “He also says I’m older than you, so I can do what I want.” 

“Uh-huh. Then I assume he’s the mastermind behind the balloons, too.” 

Keith giggles, reaching up and patting at the fluffy tuft of hair hanging over Shiro’s forehead. “He said you wouldn’t wake up if we made any noise because you snore too loud.” 

Shiro sighs. “Yeah, well Adam says a lot of things, doesn’t he?” 

“And I’m always right,” Adam points out, crossing the room to sit down on the edge of the bed with a pleased look on his face. He smiles innocently as Shiro squints up at him. “Happy birthday, ‘Kashi.” 

Shiro is absolutely helpless to the upward tug at the corner of his mouth, and he gives in to it without putting up much of a fight. “Thanks, sweetheart.” 

Adam’s smile grows, and as he leans over Keith to press a gentle, chaste kiss to Shiro’s lips, Keith slaps his hands over his eyes and pretends to gag. “Yuck!” 

“Oh,” Shiro chuckles as Adam pulls away, and Keith peeks up at him through the gaps in his fingers. “I’m sorry, Keith. Did you want a kiss too?”

“No!”

“Okay, here it comes—”

Keith slides off the bed with a squeal and darts out of the room, followed only by the sound of Shiro and Adam’s laughter.

Adam is still laughing as he leans down again to kiss Shiro properly, moving to cradle his cheek in the palm of his hand. Shiro’s eyes fall shut and he lets himself be pressed back into the sheets, snaking an arm around Adam’s shoulders and slipping his fingers through his hair. Everything around him is so warm, and Adam tastes like the coffee he always makes in the morning, and for a moment Shiro allows himself to melt against Adam’s chest and revel in the way Adam swipes a gentle thumb over his cheekbone. His eyes remain closed as they break apart and Adam huffs softly, brushing the hair away from his forehead and pressing another kiss there. “Good morning.” 

“You can say that again,” Shiro hums, finally opening his eyes to smile up at Adam when he laughs again. “When did you get here?” 

“Early enough to get Keith out of bed to help make breakfast. C’mon, if we wait much longer he’s gonna explode.” 

“Adam, the biscuits are burning!”

Shiro bursts into laughter as Adam mutters a few choice expletives certainly not suitable for a ten-year-old’s ears and shoots to his feet, dashing out of the room to save breakfast.

The rest of the morning is just as cheerful. Keith makes Shiro sit and then helps Adam set the table—Adam did, in fact, save the biscuits, so everything is just as it should be. Shiro’s waffle is topped off with the perfect whipped cream smiley face (compliments of Keith) and seven lit candles (compliments of Adam), and the only reason Shiro blows them out without complaining is because his heart is already way too full. 

“So,” Shiro says as he bites into his third biscuit (it’s his birthday, he’s treating himself). “I guess you two have already made plans for the rest of the day?”

Keith giggles as he and Adam glance at each other. “Maybe.” 

“Maybe? Is it a secret?” 

“It’s a surprise!” 

“And no, you don’t get any hints,” Adam adds, just as Shiro is about to ask if he gets any hints.

Shiro pouts, heaving an overly dramatic sigh that earns him an eye roll from Adam.  _ “Fine.  _ I’m getting more orange juice.” 

“I got it!” Keith snatches Shiro’s glass right out of his hand and hurries into the kitchen, returning to the table in record time with the glass filled nearly to the brim.

“Wow, I could get used to this,” Shiro teases, ruffling Keith’s hair and chuckling when he playfully swats him away. “If only every day were my birthday.”

Keith makes a face as he settles back into his chair. “But then you’d be, like, ten million years old.” 

Adam snorts into his coffee. “Like a dinosaur.”

“A baby dinosaur,” Keith corrects.

“They grow up so fast,” Adam sighs, grinning at an exasperated Shiro across the table as laughter bubbles out of Keith’s mouth. 

“Hilarious,” Shiro deadpans, folding his arms across his chest. “I’m glad you guys are enjoying this so much.”

_ “So  _ much,” Adam agrees, rising from his seat and circling the table to kiss him on the cheek before going into the kitchen for more coffee.

Keith snickers behind his hands. “Baby dinosaur.” 

Shiro points his fork at him, narrowing his eyes. “Hey now. This baby dinosaur could eat you if he wanted to.” 

“Prove it.”

Keith’s feet are on the floor before the words even finish coming out of his mouth, probably because he knew Shiro would rise to the bait with absolutely zero hesitation. He screeches as Shiro flies out of his seat and chases him into the living room, and Keith hardly makes it three steps before he’s being mercilessly tackled onto the couch. Shiro attacks his sides first, because he knows for a fact that’s where Keith is the most ticklish. He shrieks and kicks and laughs until his face is flushed, pressing it into the cushions as he attempts to ward Shiro’s hands away, but Shiro simply leans down and blows a raspberry on Keith’s cheek, which only serves to make him laugh harder and make the smile on Shiro’s face grow until his cheeks hurt. 

“Alright, you two!” Adam yells at them from the kitchen. “It’s time to get ready or we won’t have time for everything on Keith’s list!” 

“Oh?” Shiro finally releases his hold on Keith, who giggles breathlessly as Shiro grins down at him. “Everything on  _ your  _ list, huh?” 

“I already said it’s a surprise!” 

“I know you did.” Keith squeaks when Shiro leans down again, but he doesn’t complain or try to stop him from smacking three purposely noisy kisses on his nose. “And I’m sure I’ll love all of it.” 

**.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.**

Adam wasn’t exaggerating when he told them to get ready or they wouldn’t have time for everything on Keith’s list. 

The day is packed full of adventures, all of them tailored specifically to Shiro’s liking. To be fair, Adam helped Keith do virtually all of the planning, considering that he knows Shiro best. 

They spend the rest of the morning at the space museum downtown, the one that Shiro interned at three summers in a row between his years at college. Shiro feels old walking through the new exhibits and seeing all the ways everything’s changed since he last stopped by, but he welcomes the sense of nostalgia it brings. It’s Keith’s first visit though, and his childlike fascination with all of the spaceship models and star charts and galactic photography makes the entire trip that much more enjoyable. He asks more questions than Shiro can keep up with, but he listens with rapt attention to everything Shiro can tell him about planets and stars and galaxies and are black holes real and does he believe in aliens?

After that they pick up sushi from Shiro’s favorite food truck at the corner of the street a few blocks over, then walk to the nearby park and claim a bench for themselves while they eat. Shiro teaches Keith how to hold his chopsticks—or tries to, anyway. Keith ends up using his fingers after dropping a piece of sushi on the ground during his first and only attempt to use said chopsticks. But that’s okay because Shiro and Adam get a good laugh, and Keith’s cheeks flush a little in embarrassment but he’s a good sport about it.

The next hour or so is spent wandering around the city. For the most part Shiro and Adam follow Keith, fingers intertwined between them while Keith runs ahead (but never too far) and peers into all the shop windows. They make an impromptu stop at the bookstore where, while Keith and Adam browse the shelves, Shiro secretly buys a new mug for Adam to add to his collection and a book about space for Keith to satisfy his newfound interest (Adam gets on to him for that when he finds out later, because  _ it’s  _ your  _ birthday Takashi, we’re supposed to be buying  _ you  _ gifts.  _ But buying things for Adam and Keith makes Shiro happy, so he suspects the bookstore was part of their plan along).

Honestly, he should’ve seen their next stop coming a mile away. It’s not until they’re standing nearly directly in front of a very familiar ice cream shop that he realizes where Keith has been leading them for the past ten minutes, and the sight of it makes something warm and overwhelmingly fond unfurl in the pit of his stomach. He laughs as Keith turns to smile hopefully up at him, chewing on his lower lip as if he’s waiting to see how Shiro will react.

“So, looks like ice cream is our new birthday tradition.” 

Keith bounces a little on his toes, pulling at his fingers nervously. “Only if you want to.” 

“Of course I do,” Shiro answers, and chuckles as Keith’s eyes light up, pleased. “Vanilla with chocolate sprinkles, right?” 

“Yeah!”

Adam opens the door and stands aside to let them through, smiling at Keith as he goes by first and reaching out to touch Shiro’s arm before he can pass, too. Shiro stops confusedly as Adam glances at Keith then back at him, lowering his voice. “He’s really excited about this part, so just… let it happen.”

Shiro lifts an eyebrow. “Let what happen?” 

Adam doesn’t respond, simply pushes Shiro inside with a smile and follows. 

Keith is already ordering for himself when they catch up—or so Shiro thought. He watches curiously as the employee Keith orders from scoops his ice cream, dusts the top with a generous amount of sprinkles, and hands it to Keith over the glass. Keith quickly places it on the counter as the employee taps the order into the register to calculate the total. 

“Alright, that comes out to $3.68.” 

Shiro blinks as Keith stuffs a hand into his pocket and pulls out a Ziploc bag full of quarters, at which the employee’s face breaks out into a wide smile, clearly charmed by the whole ordeal. She waits patiently as Keith opens the bag and carefully empties the contents onto the counter, mumbling quietly to himself as he arranges them into three piles of four and one of three. He pushes his payment forward and the employee graciously accepts, adding it to the drawer and still smiling as she hands him his change, one nickel and two pennies. Keith thanks her, stuffs the now-empty Ziploc bag back into his pocket, picks up the ice cream cup, turns around and promptly holds it up for Shiro.

“Here you go.” 

Shiro stares at him. “That’s mine?” 

Keith nods fervently, and as utterly perplexed as Shiro is, he manages to take the cup from Keith’s outstretched palms without further question. No sooner than that than Keith is taking his free hand and tugging him in the direction of the tables, directly toward the same table he and Shiro picked months ago on Keith’s birthday. Shiro watches quietly as Keith grabs an extra chair from the nearest empty table for Adam and then climbs into his own seat, swinging his feet in the air when they don’t touch the ground. He peers up at Shiro expectantly, oblivious to his lingering state of confusion.

“Are you gonna sit down yet?” 

Shiro blinks again, but he obligingly sets his ice cream down and slowly sits, never taking his eyes off Keith. “Keith, where did you get that money from?” He doesn’t mean for it to sound accusatory, and he hopes it doesn’t come across that way—he’s still just trying to figure out exactly what’s happening. 

Luckily, Keith seems to understand. The question must not be all that unexpected, because Keith only bites his lip and averts his gaze, a combination of actions that Shiro has seen him do enough times to know he’s just being shy. “I saved it.” 

“From where?” 

“School.”

“But—how?” 

Keith shifts a little, gripping the edges of his seat and glancing timidly down at his lap. “‘Cause. I drew stuff for people,” he admits, voice hardly more than a mumble. “Mrs. Holt helped. She let me draw during recess. And Adam said to make it so I got a quarter for a drawing, so I did. Lance gave me two.”

Shiro’s jaw has gone slack, eyes wide and brow furrowed in disbelief. He can hardly believe what he’s hearing—Keith gave out drawings to save up money? He really took the time out of his day to draw for quarters when instead he could’ve been running around the playground with his friends during the one part of the school day he’s not in the classroom? He planned and did all of that himself, specifically for Shiro’s birthday?

“You… did that for  _ me?”  _ Shiro finds himself asking, incredulous.

Keith hesitates, but at length he looks up long enough to meet Shiro’s gaze, expression bashful and a little uncertain as he nods. 

The first tears spring into Shiro’s eyes right as Adam arrives at the table with two more cups of ice cream identical to Shiro’s. “Told you he’d cry,” he tells Keith, who smiles sheepishly as Shiro laughs wetly and wipes at his face.

And somehow, the ice cream this time tastes even better than the last.

**.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.**

Three adventures later (a trip to a chocolate shop with an impressive selection of candies and hot cocoa mix, a quick stop to take pictures with some painted murals, and an attempt to feed the ducks floating across the lake at another park—most of them spend their time quacking at Shiro… again), they wind up back at Shiro’s apartment to make dinner.

It goes well. Adam only threatens to kick Shiro out of the kitchen twice.

After they eat, Keith makes Shiro sit down on the couch while Adam clears the table and dashes to his room, reappearing at the entrance to the hallway a moment later with his hands behind his back. Shiro squints at him suspiciously. “What do you have?” 

Keith bites his lip, clearly trying to suppress a smile. “Nothing.”

“I don’t believe you.” 

“Close your eyes!” 

Shiro obediently closes his eyes with a sigh, the corners of his mouth curling up as he listens to the sound of Keith pattering across the room before leaping onto the couch beside him. There’s a bit of shuffling and then he feels something being lightly placed into his lap, at which he just barely resists the urge to peek until Keith gives him permission.

“Okay, you can open now.” 

Shiro slowly cracks his eyes open, glances over at an eager, expectant Keith, then finally looks down to find a piece of paper draped across his knees. He picks it up with both hands and lifts it toward him, his smile already growing as he inspects the page. It’s a drawing, clearly set in space as indicated by the dark background and brightly colored stars swirling across it. In the middle of the page is what looks like a mechanical lion, its enormous jaws held open in a silent roar, and pictured behind the lion’s glass eyes is Shiro himself. 

“Is that me?” he asks, even though the white tuft of hair on the page is unmistakable.

Keith nods excitedly, climbing onto his knees beside Shiro and leaning in close. “You’re flying the lion! It’s a robot, but it’s connected to your mind like an alien, and you fly through space and protect the galaxy and explore the universe!”

Shiro raises both eyebrows. “Me? Flying an alien robot lion through space and protecting the galaxy? Exploring the  _ universe? _ You checked all my boxes, how’d you know exactly what I wanted?”

Keith pokes his cheek. “Cuz’ you’re gonna be an astronaut!” 

Shiro laughs brightly, wrapping his arm around Keith’s shoulders to pull him against his side and squeeze. “I love it, Keith, thank you. Best birthday present ever, by far.” He genuinely means it, and he hopes Keith knows that. From the way that Keith beams up at him, he’s pretty sure the message got across. 

As they begin to wind down from the events of the day, the three of them crowd together on the couch for Keith’s last order of business: a movie with popcorn. Shiro laughs more when the  _ Treasure Planet  _ DVD menu appears on the screen, remembering that Keith had randomly asked what his favorite movie was only a few days ago and Shiro had been utterly clueless as to why. Keith insists on holding the popcorn so he can sit between Shiro and Adam, but he doesn’t get to hold it for very long. As excited and energetic he was throughout the entirety of the day, all the activity must finally take its toll on him in the relative quiet. He falls asleep halfway through the movie, cheek pressed against Shiro’s arm, hair falling into his face. Shiro and Adam don’t have the heart to wake him up, so they simply settle around him and watch the rest of the movie. 

When it’s over, Adam kisses Shiro’s cheek and says a quiet goodbye, with a promise to find a day next week that they can have their own post-birthday date. “He really wanted today to be good for you,” he murmurs as Shiro lifts a sleeping Keith into his arms. “It means a lot to him that you went along with everything.” 

Shiro huffs a small laugh, smiling down at Keith as a piece of hair slips into his face. “Yeah, well. It means a lot to me that he did all of this in the first place.” 

Adam squeezes his shoulder, leaning in to kiss his cheek one more time. “Happy birthday, Takashi. I love you.” 

“Love you too, Adam.” 

“I’ll see you soon.” 

Shiro stays there in the living room long enough to watch Adam go to the door, turning to offer one last smile and a wave before he goes. Keith stirs slightly at the sound of the door clicking shut, but other than that he remains asleep. Shiro steps over the discarded popcorn bowl on the floor and starts down the hall to Keith’s room, gingerly nudging the door open with his foot and stepping inside. He crosses over to the bed and carefully, gently lays Keith down, slowly lowering his head onto the pillow.

Maybe not gently enough, because as Shiro slides his arms out from underneath him, Keith shifts and raises a hand to rub his eyes, brow furrowing as he wakes. “Shiro?” 

“Sorry,” Shiro whispers, wincing a little when Keith peels his eyes open to look up at him. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.” 

“S’okay,” Keith mumbles, rubbing his eyes again. He rolls onto his side and watches quietly as Shiro reaches for the sheets and pulls them up, settling them over Keith’s shoulder. “Shiro?” he repeats.

“Yeah, buddy.” Shiro squats down so he’s level with Keith, just to make sure he knows he’s got his full attention.

Keith chews on his lip for a moment, opens his mouth, pauses, and then: “Did you have a good birthday?” 

The question nearly makes Shiro laugh, if only because of how sure of the answer he is. “Oh, Keith. I had the  _ best  _ birthday,” he says, poking Keith’s nose and chuckling when he wrinkles it in protest, even as he bites his lip to hide a satisfied smile. “Seriously, it couldn’t have been more perfect. You didn’t have to do all of that for me.”

Even in the dark of the room Shiro can see the way Keith’s cheeks turn pink and his expression falters slightly, the way it does sometimes when he’s working up the courage to say something just a little outside of his comfort zone. He drops his gaze and shrugs, picking at the sheets. “Yeah,” he agrees quietly. “I wanted to, though.”

Shiro’s cheeks hurt from smiling and he’s pretty sure his heart is seconds away from bursting. He lifts a hand toward Keith and carefully brushes the hair out of his face, tucking it behind his ear and leaning in to kiss his forehead. “You’re a really great little brother.”

Keith looks back at him then, the new smile that crosses his face bright and unabashed, so utterly pleased that Shiro can hardly take it. It still hasn’t even been a full year since Shiro took Keith in as his own, only a few days under eight months, but there’s no denying the clear changes their relationship has gone through in that time. There were a lot of bumps in the road—a  _ lot _ —but for now, they’re making it work. They’ll get there. 

Shiro looks at Keith and thinks:  _ yeah. We’ve come a long way. _

“Alright,” Shiro sighs, slapping his knees and pushing up to his full height. “Sleep time. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?” 

“Okay,” Keith nods, pulling the sheets tighter around his shoulders and nestling himself against the mattress, squishing his cheek into his pillow.

“Okay. Goodnight, Keith.” 

“Goodnight.” 

Shiro smiles at him one more time and then turns to make his leave, crossing the room with careful steps and slipping back out into the hall. Just before Shiro closes the door he hears Keith mumble one last thing, voice already heavy with sleep and barely audible. 

“Baby dinosaur.” 

And just this once, Shiro lets it slide.

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi on [tumblr](https://www.thespacenico.tumblr.com)!  
> [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/thespacenico/)!  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/thespacenico)!  
> 


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